CAMERON — For five innings here on Wednesday evening it appeared Chatham Central was poised and ready to take down 3A Union Pines in area non-conference baseball action.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Union Pines exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth to storm back for a 12-5 triumph.
Chatham Central fell to 1-3 on the season with the loss while Union Pines improved to 4-1.
The Bears had a big day at the plate on Wednesday, belting out 10 hits led by Caleb Staley and Drew Cox. Staley went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Cox was also 3-for-4 and scored two runs.
Tyson Measeamer was 1-for-4 with an run scored and an RBI-triple in the top of the third which put Chatham Central in front 3-0 after the Bears had scored to open the game behind a Michael Moore double and subsequent RBI-single from Lofton Dodson. Moore was 1-for-3 in the contest and was hit by a pitch, while Dodson was 1-for-4.
Carter Fuquay was also 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the fourth inning that sent the Bears up 4-1, a lead that would be extended to 5-1 in the top of the fifth after an RBI-single from Staley.
Chatham Central also saw Zach Ritter walk and Jackson Gray score a run.
The Bears were scheduled to begin a challenging five games in seven days stretch on Tuesday afternoon by heading to Clover Garden before rolling up to River Mill on Wednesday, making the short trek to Chatham Charter on Friday, traveling Southern Lee on Saturday, and hosting Union Pines on Monday.